Abbott has friends and foes in disabled community

An American Airlines Boeing 737 takes off at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says American has agreed that if its merger with US Airways proceeds, it will keep serving 22 rural Texas communities.

Photo: Pat Sullivan, STF

Long before he crossed a San Antonio stage in his wheelchair to declare his 2014 gubernatorial candidacy, Attorney General Greg Abbott drew mixed reviews in Texas' disabled community for his conservative policies that impact health care and accessibility requirements.

As a paraplegic who could become the state's first disabled governor, Abbott has generated excitement among those who would like to see a disabled person break through to the state's top job. Yet, concerns abound about some of the Republican candidate's views on states' rights as they apply to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Medicaid and other health care issues.

Abbott, 55, who's already made Texas history as the first statewide-elected official to use a wheelchair, casts those concerns as misguided.

"It sounds like some people want me to take a dive on defending the state, just because I happen to be in a wheelchair," Abbott said last week. He called himself a "powerful warrior for causes that most Texans believe in and stand for."

Even after 21 years in public life, Abbott's disability isn't widely known among Texans, but that's changed dramatically since he started a statewide campaign. In a campaign video and on stage, Abbott told supporters about the crippling injury he sustained precisely 29 years earlier.

On July 14, 1984, as a law student preparing to take the bar exam, a tree fell on him as he was jogging in River Oaks, crushing his spine. He emerged from the trauma to continue in his chosen profession.

"After my accident, I realized our lives aren't defined by how we're challenged. Instead, we define our lives by how to respond to challenges," Abbott told supporters in San Antonio.

Lingering concerns

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Disabled Texans long part of state history

If elected in 2014, GOP candidate Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair due to an accidental injury 29 years ago, would become the state's first disabled governor, but there's already a long list of disabled people who had a major impact on Texas history.

Among them were U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, who had multiple sclerosis, and state Sen. Criss Cole of Houston, a blind former judge who was instrumental in the creation of the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio.

The legacy goes back to Texas' early days. Eight of Texas' 254 counties were named after people with disabilities, including Erastus "Deaf" Smith, a heroic scout during the Texas Revolution, and Thomas William "Peg-Leg" Ward, another figure from the revolution who served as Austin mayor and land commissioner. Ward lost a leg in battle, and later an arm when a cannon misfired at a San Jacinto Day ceremony.

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"The reality is, every single day is a challenge in its own unique way. Truly that's one thing that helps me relate to all Texans in a much more realistic way," Abbott said in an interview last week.

Perseverance has emerged as a central theme of his campaign, which cites his determination after the accident to pass the bar exam, practice law and become a public servant. Abbott became a district judge in Houston in 1992 and a justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1996, where he was the first court member to use a wheelchair and first to use the court building's then-new ADA accommodations.

After becoming attorney general in 2002, Abbott soon began drawing fire from disabled advocates over concerns that linger still. In 2003, Abbott cited Texas' sovereign immunity during a dispute over state-provided community services for the disabled, who faced long waiting lists.

"In Texas, a person can sue an arm of the state for injunctive relief to say 'You need to make this facility more accessible,' but they're not entitled to sue the state for money damages," Abbott said last week.

He's long been aware that his policies draw criticisms from fellow disabled Texans. In 2003, he said, "There is no one who cares more about ensuring that state facilities are accessible to the disabled more than me. There may be no wheelchair user in the state who depends on the accessibility to government buildings as much as I do."

Yet, Abbott's critics - then and now - asserted that he disappointed disabled Texans by voicing appreciation for the ADA while clinging to his conservative strategies.

A lot of confusion

"That's what confuses a lot of people in the disability community," said Bob Kafka of Austin, leader of the advocacy group ADAPT.

"On the one hand, it is something to be admired that somebody who has been in a wheelchair since he was 26 is running for governor. That shows the advance of the disability community being involved in policy. But the thing about Greg Abbott is that a lot of his conservative policies end up having him take positions that would harm people in the disability community and in fact himself," Kafka said.

Abbott disputes those concerns as well, saying he shouldn't be faulted for following his guiding principles.

"The difference between me and an advocate is that I have taken an oath of office," he said.

'Complete disaster'

Still, a looming concern is Abbott's long-running opposition to expansion of Medicaid in Texas and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Kafka said those beliefs "result in services being diminished at a time when we need more services so people can go to school, go to work, integrate into the community."

Abbott doesn't accept that criticism, either.

"The very day the president signed Obamacare into law, I took him to court to protect our constitutional rights," Abbott proudly stated his campaign launch in San Antonio, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Elaborating last week, Abbott said his opposition to Obamacare is in the best interests of the state, including the disabled community, because "Obamacare tramples the Constitution" and "Obamacare is a complete disaster of a law. It actually harms access to health care."